His legitimate daughter, Isabel, through her marriage to William Marshall, is the common ancestor of several subsequent Queens of England. Her husband governed England as regent to the young Henry III. In this role he masterminded the defeat of the French who had occupied a large part of southern England during the final years of King John’s reign. Continue reading Strongbow – the Invader
Men who had been unable to effectively control Wales and the Welsh border country were now given the equally difficult task of pacifying the Irish. Continue reading The Norman Invasion: an Irish Perspective.
Whilst Raymond waited in his camp on a small peninsula on the border between Wexford and Waterford, what was keeping Strongbow? One can only imagine the difficulty of recruiting a private army at a time when every man of substance who wished to advance his career was pursuing opportunities to impress and, eventually, serve his king. Strongbow was not the only noble who had supported the wrong side during the Anarchy. There were others who needed to find a way of regaining the position they had lost with the upon coronation of Henry II. Meanwhile, Strongbow’s future son-in-law was making … Continue reading A Charismatic Leader Picks his Team
My thanks to Sally Cronin for featuring Strongbow’s Wife on her blog, along with an excellent review. For anyone that’s interested, there are two ways in which the Strongbow story connects with Archbishop Becket. Both he and Henry II were close friends with the Bristol merchant Aoife’s father first turned to for help in regaining his kingdom. And, once Beckett had been murdered in Canterbury Henry felt the need to atone. His mission to Ireland, suggested by the Pope some years earlier probably seemed like a good way of doing so. via Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – Author Update … Continue reading Sharing Book Reviews
This series of Advent posts about medieval buildings is proving very interesting with lots of places worth visiting, some of which I have visited myself at various times. Today’s features the Abbey founded by Strongbow’s father-in-law. The tab ‘Hereford and Ireland History’ on the menu above will take you to lots of background material to the story, and under ‘Publications’ you will find a link to my book ‘Strongbow’s Wife’ which tells what happened in the years following his arrival. via Advent Calendar of medieval Religious institutions: December 10th: St Mary’s Abbey Ferns. Continue reading The Birth Place of Strongbow’s Wife
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